Rory McIlroy believes he still has a lot to achieve in the game, but he admits that he’s already made plans for the future and bought a house “in the London area” as he sees a return to Europe in eight years.

The Holywood star, who captured his fifth Race to Dubai title when his rivals failed to close within 2000 points of him at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge, is looking to round off a season he rates as “seven out of 10” with his third win in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The future of the game at a time of flux is at the forefront of his mind, but with his three-year-old daughter Poppy set to enter secondary school in eight years, Golf Digest reports that McIlroy (34) is likely to base himself near the UK capital at what will be a different stage of his career.

As for the game itself, the world number two was tight-lipped on what transpired at this Monday’s PGA TOUR policy board meeting and the proposals put forth by multiple investment groups, each vying to partner with the PGA Tour as it seeks to fend off Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

An imminent solution doesn't appear likely.

“I wouldn't think so,” he said. “I think if you were in the middle of it, you would see that there's a path forward. It's just that no one on the outside has any details, right.

“Loose lips sink ships, so we are trying to keep it tight and within walls. I'm sure when there's news to tell, it will be told.”

In the unlikely event the framework agreement between the PGA TOUR and the PIF is formalised by the December 31 deadline, he admitted there are no guarantees.

“Even if we get a deal done, it doesn't mean that it's actually going to happen,” he said. “That's up to the United States government and whether the Department of Justice think that it's the right thing to do. So it wouldn’t be a sure thing.”

He sees investment in the game's grassroots and the complete revamping of the current world golf calendar as the biggest challenges facing golf.

As for his own game, he’s upbeat about it and positive about 2023, which saw him win two Rolex Series events in the Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open and caress that elusive fifth major win at the US Open in Los Angeles in June.

“I probably would have liked to have done it [win his fifth Race to Dubai] another way,” said McIlroy, who needs three more Race to Dubai titles to match Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie’s record.

“But I've played well when I've come back over to the European Tour this year. I won two Rolex Series events and had some other really high finishes in tournaments that give a lot of points.

“So it’s really nice to have my name on the Harry Vardon Trophy for the fifth time and be just one behind Seve and still a few behind Monty.”

He cherishes his place amongst the greats of the European game, but he knows he might have achieved more this year, even if his consistency gave him great satisfaction.

“To be up alongside them is really something,” he said of the European greats. “If someone had told 18-year-old Rory when I was making my professional debut in 2007 that I would have won five Order of Merits up to this point, I wouldn't have believed them.

“It shows the consistency that I've played with over the last few years. Even though I don't feel like I've had a great year, I can still go ahead and achieve things like this.

“I had the two wins and my best-ever Ryder Cup, which feels like a win to me, especially coming off the back of Whistling Straits.

“So I've been happy with the year. I'll rue that miss at LA I had a great opportunity to pick up another major and I didn't. But I'm not going to let that take away from the fact that it's been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances. My game is in as good a shape as it’s ever been throughout my career.”

As for the battle with LIV Golf and the PGA TOUR’s framework agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, he pointed out that golf is far bigger than that.

“The professional game has never been stronger or healthier or from a financial standpoint, there's never been a better time to be a professional golfer,” he said. “But that's five per cent of what golf is.

“It’s the golf that amateurs play; it's the golf that my dad plays. It's not just about us. It's about the overall health of the game. We are all talking about this investment coming into the top level of golf, but I think it also needs to go into the R&A and the USGA and for them to try to increase participation.”

Still, he admits the battle with the Saudis has led to two years of turmoil in the professional game and hopes the end result produces a more global product by increasing the importance of the historic national opens.

“If we can create a perfect golf calendar, what would it look like? And I don't think it would look like it looks right now,” McIlroy said. “I think there would be changes made.

“Look at what Max Homa and Justin Thomas did last week, going down to South Africa. They had a really good time. They played in a different part of the world where they had never played before.

“If more of that sort of stuff could happen, I think it would be really good for golf.”

A more global schedule, which “revitalises” some of the biggest national opens, is part of his vision for the future.

“Those events have some great history in our game and a lot of tradition,” he said of events like the Scottish, Irish or Australian Opens, to name just three of his worldwide wins.

“They are probably some of my most prized possessions in my trophy case. You look at the names on the trophies, and that's what golf is about. It's being able to try to compare yourself to previous generations. To me, that's what being a professional golfer and being competitive is all about is being able to go and win all over the world.”

As for accusations that the DP World Tour has become a feeder tour now that it awards 10 PGA TOUR cards to the leading non-exempt players, he does not agree.

“So I don't see that side of the argument at all,” he said. “For golfers playing on The European Tour, I think it's an amazing thing that's happened and as I said, it formalises a pathway to get to the very top level of professional golf.”